Registration
Registration is open! Registration information is available in the ODD Facebook group.
The ODD Ball is a private conference for members of the facebook group, Owners of Dog Daycares. <Join here to learn more about the group and register for the conference.
Thank you to our Sponsors!
Our Speakers
Duane Carey
Duane is the founder and president of IMPACT Marketing, a 19-year-old, digital marketing firm in Maryland that specializes in the pet care industry. With a science degree and an MBA in finance, he takes a refreshingly bottom-line approach to marketing. He says it's all about the results, not the pretty pictures! He works with more than 55 pet care clients all over the U.S. Duane and his wife, a veterinarian, have three young-adult children and a very spoiled Australian Labradoodle named Olaf.
~~~~~~
Topic: Demand is Down and Competition is Up: Proven Digital Marketing Strategies to Implement Right Away
With demand declining and competition increasing , it’s never been more important to get the marketing right. But with so many opinions and "opportunities" to spend your hard-earned dollars, how can you make the right digital marketing decisions? Informed by the best practices of his 55+ pet resort clients, Duane will share actionable steps and advice to immediately optimize your marketing budget. In a no-nonsense style, he'll share what actually works and what doesn't, while cutting through the industry jargon. With a heavy focus on Google – both paid and organic – he’ll also cover what you typically can and cannot do yourself. Duane will also discuss various industry benchmarks. Bring your questions and fire away!
Julie Castaneda
Julie Castaneda is a seasoned leader and speaker with a wealth of experience in the dog daycare industry, having operated Dog Day Afternoon for over 25 years. As a mother of ten adult children, she brings a unique perspective on managing diverse personalities and fostering collaboration. Julie has also worked as a consultant for organizations like HSUS, ASPCA, and Red Rover, skillfully managing hundreds of volunteers during the chaos of natural disaster response and emergency animal sheltering. Drawing on these rich experiences, she inspires audiences to boldly navigate the challenges of staff management, encouraging leaders to embrace their role and make impactful swings for success. In her free time, Julie enjoys spending time with her three dogs, trail running long distances, and raising and training horses.
~~~~~~
Topic: Swing for the Fences: Hitting Home Runs in Staff Management.
Just like a batter in baseball, effective leadership requires agility, strategy, and the willingness to swing at what life throws your way. In this lively session, we’ll explore how to tackle the challenges of managing staff and engaging in difficult conversations with confidence. Discover how to read the “pitch” of employee dynamics, address performance issues, and create a winning team culture. You'll leave with powerful techniques that empower you to step up to the plate and knock your management challenges out of the park. Join us as we turn the complexities of staff dynamics into home runs for your dog daycare!
Brandon C. Jeter
Brandon C. Jeter is an independently certified coach, speaker and trainer with the Maxwell Certified Leadership Team. Specializing in transformational growth and leadership development training, Brandon seeks to help individuals and organizations transform goals into reality, using proven principles, techniques and strategies to reach the next level of potential.
~~~~~~
Topic 1: The One Degree Difference Game Plan - a practical system to help team members implement growth in life and business
At 99°C, water is very hot, but it’s not boiling. When the temperature increases by just one degree to 100°C, water begins to boil, transitioning from a liquid to a gas (steam.) This one-degree change marks a significant state change with different properties. Learn how applying the “one degree difference” can lead to disproportionately large benefits or different outcomes over time.
Topic 2: Living in the Growth Zone - a tactical action plan to bring harmony to life and business
Beyond the Comfort Zone lies the Learning Zone (also known as the Growth Zone). Here, your existing skills and abilities are stretched, allowing you to learn and develop new ones. Moving into the Learning Zone might feel intimidating at first. But it doesn't have to be. Living in the growth zone means stepping outside of your comfort zone to learn, grow, and achieve your goals. You'll face uncertainty, discomfort, and fear as you take on new challenges and push your boundaries.
Meg Krinke
Meg Krinke is Owner and Consultant at MKG Consulting.
As an optimistic and straightforward business executive, Meg Krinke brings extensive experience in partnering with leaders and decision-makers to enhance business effectiveness and drive intentional change. She embraces her role as an entrepreneur with a profound sense of responsibility and honor, prioritizing the journey of her client leaders and executives.
Meg is dedicated to elevating organizations through her diverse roles as an executive partner/coach, change management expert, corporate speaker, vibrant facilitator, and energetic consultant. With over 20 years of experience in business communications, strategic human resources, and risk management, she offers unique perspectives at every table she joins.
Her expertise in leadership development, executive coaching, and small business dynamics provides a valuable lens on HR’s role in strategy and operations. Known for her ability to skilfully tailor approaches to meet the distinct needs of each client, Meg has sucessfully served a wide variety of industries and executives.
She holds a BA in Communications from Winona State University, along with senior-level HR certifications (SPHR and SHRM-SCP) and credentials as a Maxwell Leadership speaker and executive trainer. Meg is also committed to community involvement, having served on a variety of boards including the Winona Area Chamber of Commerce, Cotter Private Schools, SHRM's Leadership Team, and VCS Technologies, LLC.
~~~~~~
Topic: HR for Entrepreneurs: Powerful Skills for HR and Risk Management in small business
As business owners, we need reliable access to expertise in a broad variety of areas each day, to keep our businesses moving forward safely. Human Resources is often one of the most challenging areas, that can be riddled with risk and liability. In the HR Power Skills series, Meg covers the essential elements of human resource management tailored for smaller organizations. If you are looking to better understand and streamline the necessary HR processes, ensure compliance for your entity, and learn how to best protect your small business from a variety of angles - this session is for you!
Angel Lara
Angel Lara started his career as a biscuit maker at KFC. He rose his way to GM and Project Manager. He became a business owner of an El Pollo Loco franchise in 2006. He is now a certified coach, trainer and speaker with the John Maxwell method of training.
~~~~~~
Topic: Environment of Attraction
This presentation will explore how to create an environment where people will want to be, where they will feel valued and appreciated, and have a sense of belonging. Great company culture is the first step to create excellent word of mouth marketing.
John Maresh
John has been involved with Destination Pet’s growth since the company was founded in 2017. Initially he worked as an outside M&A consultant and then officially joined the company as Vice President of Mergers & Acquisitions in February of 2020. Prior to working with Destination Pet, John worked as a commercial real estate broker based in Chicago, representing retail, service, and medical tenants nationwide. John is proud to have helped build Destination Pet’s business development team, which has grown the company to over 180 locations. In that time, he has had the privilege to meet and work with over one thousand pet care business owners around the country as they explored exit opportunities. Over the last 7 years, John has learned to solve for many common and unique challenges that need to be resolved for a successful acquisition. He is happy to share with business owners what he has learned, and how owners can simplify their future exit when that time comes.
~~~~~~
Topic: Deal or No Deal: Should You Let Private Equity Sniff Your Butt (or look at your numbers)?
We've heard from lots of sellers; now let's hear from a buyer. What do buyers want? What really matters? What makes a deal or loses a deal?
Irina McGrath
Irina McGrath is originally from Armenia and moving to America was a challenging experience that required her to adapt to a new environment, learn a new language, and manage her personal finances effectively. She signed up for a personal finance class and it was then that she discovered her passion for financial planning and wealth management.
Irina started her own financial planning practice in 2017 and shares her expertise to educate and empower her clients. Her practice takes the time to understand the client’s unique situation, their personal and financial background, values and goals, and build custom-made financial plans that allow her clients to live their dreams and help them get beyond what is holding them back.
As an immigrant, a mother, a small business owner, and someone with diverse career experiences, she understands the unique challenges, responsibilities, and questions that come with each of those roles and loves working with diverse clientele to help them achieve their own personal goals in a judgement-free environment. She believes financial planning is a collaborative process and understands that every individual or household is unique, which requires personalized planning for her clients.
When she’s not working, you can find her in the kitchen cooking, doing Peloton workouts, hiking in the mountains of Colorado, and spending time with her husband, son, and cat.
~~~~~~
Topic: From Nose to Tail: Comprehensive Planning for Your Business (with Scott Schrank)
Life as a pet care business owner is difficult, busy, and often overwhelming. Having a dedicated plan to make the most of your revenue can help eliminate uncertainty and some of those sleepless nights. Scott and Irina leverage over 15 years in the pet care industry and over a decade in financial services to help you overcome unique challenges in the industry and plan your business and personal finances for today and into the future.
Marti Michalis
Marti began her career working as a professional recruiter. She worked for a few small businesses and some large companies like Hershey Foods, Ernst & Young and MCI Worldcom, learning Human Resources and how to work on a team. She had been traveling 40 weeks per year and was boarding her dog at a local kennel. When they decided to sell the business it prompted her to look into the dog daycare and boarding business as a good fit for her as a new career.
In 2008, Marti purchased an existing dog day care business in Riverside, CA. She changed the name, reorganized, and hired new staff. This became her only job and only source of income. She knew it must succeed because she had no other income and no more savings at the time. Marti spent the first three years marketing and getting the business to a very profitable level. She implemented processes and procedures to make the business run smoothly without her and handed the daily operations to a General Manager. She opened a second location closer to home and duplicated the process.
Marti is considered an absentee owner and rarely comes into the office. She spends most of her time on Human Resources, Accounting, and Marketing, and likes to look at it all from the big picture. She developed a system of Standard Operating Procedures that help run the business effectively in her absence.
~~~~~~
Topic: Work Less, Vacation More. Setting Up SOP's
Many business leaders recognize the importance of standardizing operations, yet the demands of daily management often leave little time for creating and maintaining Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Join us as Marti shares her journey of developing SOPs for her two facilities, which empowered her to become an absentee owner and dedicate more time to her passions!
Eve Molzhon
Eve Molzhon’s interest in dogs began in 2000 as a board member for Capable Canines of Wisconsin (CCOW), a non-profit service dog organization. In the corporate world, she worked in sales management, marketing, and project management, but CCOW inspired her to delve into the animal care industry. She is a member of APDT, IACP, IAABC, and IBPSA. In 2013, she opened Fun Fur Pets Dog Daycare and Boarding. As business grew, Eve saw gaps in employee training, so she created an online, video-based, fully automated staff training program, Dog Handler Academy. At Fun Fur Pets, she created Dog School, a program for dog socialization and obedience training and subsequently opened a second business for a similar program, the Dog School of Minnesota. In early 2023, Eve built and opened Pawesome Pets Country Club, an enrichment-based dog daycare and pet boarding facility. Eve also created 2nd Chance to Shine, a non-profit organization that provides basic manners training and social rehabilitation to several dogs who are currently in rescues throughout the Midwest.
~~~~~~
Topic: From Ideas to Action: Implementing What We've Learned
Join Eve Molzhon for this highly interactive closing session, designed to help you take the insights and strategies shared throughout the ODD Ball Conference and turn them into actionable steps for your business. During this session, attendees will have the opportunity to walk through real-life implementation processes, from brainstorming to execution. Eve will lead this as a large group exercise, where she’ll help break down a key concept attendees want to apply—whether it's adding a new program, streamlining operations, or improving customer engagement. We’ll collaboratively build out strategies and create implementation plans in real time. By the end, you’ll leave with a clear roadmap to put your new knowledge into practice.
Phillip Paris
Phillip Paris is the lead consultant at Phillip Paris Consultants and is the co-founder of the Pet Care Management Masterclass and Founder of Leadership REVolution, which are pet industry related workshops and online learning.
Phillip has worked with many facilities all over the U.S. and Canada and brings a perspective to his speaking based upon actual hands-on work with the many fantastic pet care people in our industry.
Having owned a pet resort for over 11 years, Phillip has learned many valuable principles and lessons that he shares with people all over the U.S. His passion is helping businesses understand the industry, increase revenue, manage payroll, implement excellent customer service systems, develop leaders, empower owners to make big shifts in their businesses, and help modernize the pet care industry through innovative and creative methods.
Phillip resides in Georgetown, Texas, with his wife, 2 children and a dog named Hank.
~~~~~~
Topic: Accountability in Action: Managing Poor Performers and Strengthening Leadership (with Dan Poirier and Mallory Poirier)
Effective leadership is built on accountability—both in managing team performance and ensuring leaders themselves are held to high standards.
In this presentation, Phillip, Dan, and Mallory will share proven strategies for addressing poor performance in a way that fosters improvement while reinforcing leadership accountability. You'll learn how to tackle difficult performance conversations, set clear expectations, and create a culture where managers are empowered to lead by example.
This session will provide practical tools for transforming underperformance into opportunity and ensuring that every level of leadership is aligned with the organization's vision for success. Join us to discover how accountability in action can drive positive change throughout your team.
Dan Poirier
Dan Poirier opened Fetch N’ Catch in 2012 with his cousin Mallory. Since then, it has grown into the largest dog daycare in Buffalo, NY, offering dog daycare, enrichment daycare, boarding, grooming, and training across their 25,000 sq. ft. campus. In total, Fetch N’ Catch employs over 50 staff members and cares for 200+ dogs per day. In 2018, Dan and Mallory began consulting for other pet care facilities. In 2020, they launched PackPro Training, an online learning and staff training platform designed specifically for the dog daycare industry. In total, through consulting work and PackPro, Dan and Mallory have taught tens of thousands of individuals and worked with hundreds of facilities across the U.S. and around the globe.
~~~~~~
Topic: Accountability in Action: Managing Poor Performers and Strengthening Leadership (with Mallory Poirier and Phillip Paris)
Effective leadership is built on accountability—both in managing team performance and ensuring leaders themselves are held to high standards.
In this presentation, Phillip, Dan, and Mallory will share proven strategies for addressing poor performance in a way that fosters improvement while reinforcing leadership accountability. You'll learn how to tackle difficult performance conversations, set clear expectations, and create a culture where managers are empowered to lead by example.
This session will provide practical tools for transforming underperformance into opportunity and ensuring that every level of leadership is aligned with the organization's vision for success. Join us to discover how accountability in action can drive positive change throughout your team.
Mallory Poirier
Mallory Poirier began her journey in animal care at 18 years old as a veterinary assistant, where she discovered her passion for working with animals. In 2012, she and her cousin Dan co-founded Fetch N’ Catch, which has since become the largest dog daycare in Buffalo, NY. Their 25,000 sq. ft. campus serves over 200 dogs daily, offering daycare, enrichment, boarding, grooming, and training services with a dedicated staff of over 50.
~~~~~~
Topic: Accountability in Action: Managing Poor Performers and Strengthening Leadership (with Dan Poirier and Phillip Paris)
Effective leadership is built on accountability—both in managing team performance and ensuring leaders themselves are held to high standards.
In this presentation, Phillip, Dan, and Mallory will share proven strategies for addressing poor performance in a way that fosters improvement while reinforcing leadership accountability. You'll learn how to tackle difficult performance conversations, set clear expectations, and create a culture where managers are empowered to lead by example.
This session will provide practical tools for transforming underperformance into opportunity and ensuring that every level of leadership is aligned with the organization's vision for success. Join us to discover how accountability in action can drive positive change throughout your team.
Catherine Crews
Catherine Crews, founder and owner of Canine Crews, has called Chicago home since 1999. A graduate of the University of Arkansas with a degree in History and Art, she spent over a decade in the metal industry, culminating in her role as President of the Association of Women in the Metal Industry. In 2009, Catherine brought her leadership expertise to the pet care industry, founding Canine Crews and later expanding to include Kitty Crews, Walk & Wag Club, and innovative training programs. Beyond her business ventures, she offers consulting services to help small businesses thrive through organizational and leadership development. As a dedicated community member, Catherine remains deeply involved in local groups and professional associations, consistently working to enhance her neighborhood and city.
~~~~~~
Topic: Empowered Leadership: Unlocking the Potential in Your Team
Discover how emotional intelligence and situational adaptability can transform your leadership. Learn to lead with self-awareness, empathy, and relationship management, while mastering situational leadership to meet your team’s unique needs. Equip yourself to inspire buy-in, foster skill development, and drive cohesive, high-performing teams.
Liz Randall
Elizabeth (Liz) Randall has been a professional dog trainer since 2010, and has held her CPDT-KA credential since 2011. She owned a dog daycare in the northern San Diego area for eight years, which focused primarily on behavior and training. Liz actively competes in agility with her dogs, and regularly podiums at National and Regional events. She is passionate about continuing education, and has participated in many high-level behavior conferences, seminars, and immersive experiences with many of the biggest names in the canine behavior world.
Currently, she runs her own behavior modification and training business, working with both high level behavior modification and canine sport clientele in Southern California, at private facilities across the US, and also online.
She is a San Diego native, and loves to cook, travel, and spend time outside with her dogs.
~~~~~~
Topic: Should You Add a Training Program? Important Considerations for Daycares
We are often told that training is a great way to generate additional income for daycares. This can be absolutely true! However, daycare owners without extensive knowledge of dog training programs can be unaware of some of the major factors that contribute to a successful training program. Even those with existing training programs may encounter speed bumps that they are not prepared to navigate. We will discuss the major pros and cons of adding and running a training department to your business, and whether or not it may be worthwhile for your individual business’ model and situation.
Scott Schrank
Scott has loved dogs since he was in diapers, and naturally gravitated toward working with them. He spent time managing and owning dog daycares in Colorado and California, learning invaluable lessons and watching the nature of pet care evolve. After seeing the changing industry landscape post-COVID, Scott decided to pivot into helping other business owners avoid common pitfalls and safeguard themselves and their businesses. With a passion for bringing logical, thoughtful solutions for his clients, Scott brings his knowledge and experience to bear on the unique challenges that pet care owners face.
Scott lives in Colorado with his wife, 2 children, and their pets. If he’s not working with a client, he’s probably exploring nature or having adventures with his family.
~~~~~~
Topic: From Nose to Tail: Comprehensive Planning for Your Business (with Irina McGrath)
Life as a pet care business owner is difficult, busy, and often overwhelming. Having a dedicated plan to make the most of your revenue can help eliminate uncertainty and some of those sleepless nights. Scott and Irina leverage over 15 years in the pet care industry and over a decade in financial services to help you overcome unique challenges in the industry and plan your business and personal finances for today and into the future.
Rob Van Craenenbroeck
Rob has been a Human Resource and Learning and Development practitioner for more than 30 years. He has led HR teams in multiple industries including manufacturing, retail, healthcare,
education, and financial services. Rob has also provided leadership for national and global sales forces and served as Director of Human Resources at Kaplan Professional Education. Rob holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Organizational Development, has helped companies emerge from bankruptcy, and has been a catalyst for successful organizational change. He is a frequent keynote speaker and facilitates cultural change workshops.
~~~~~~
Topic: Discovering Your New Manager
This presentation will provide participants with the insight necessary to facilitate finding their next manager. Participants will learn how to source and interview external candidates. Emphasis will also be placed on how to develop internal employees for management roles, assess their readiness for management, and set them up for long-term success.
Madison Warner
Maddie began her career working as a veterinary technician at general practice and emergency vet clinics. After 8 years in veterinary medicine, she became an NREMT-A/firefighter & FEMA K9 handler, and worked in emergency response for 10 years. She began teaching pet first aid in 2018 and has worked numerous pet-industry jobs such as daycare tech, bather, walker/hiker, pet sitter, and pet biz operator. She has a Bachelors Degree in Emergency Management and her other certifications include PACCC CPACO, AVECC BLS & ALS, VTG T3C, and more. She helps operate a Community Animal Response Team in Salt Lake City and enjoys relaxing with her retired search dog, cooking, and spending time outdoors in her free time.
~~~~~~
Topic: What is an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) & How to Create One for your Pet Business
Knowing what to do in an emergency is essential. The well-being of your staff, clients, and pets in your care is an ethical and legal responsibility. Having an EAP will take the guesswork out of a dire situation, giving you the confidence to act in emergencies large or small. Creating and implementing emergency plans can feel overwhelming or confusing. In this seminar, we will provide you with the essential details and how to develop plans that easily integrate into your daily operations. This seminar will also cover OSHA compliance and business continuity planning.